I do not disagree that i7 has CPU performance wrapped up.
The power figures though do not add up. Although Anand says it is more power efficient than the 45nm qx9770 in this article...
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...spx?i=3453&p=3
Certain things do not add up.
120-135W power jump from idle to load on CPU intensive applications?
Either the i7 is sooo good it runs on only a couple of watts at idle, or the cake is a lie! (the spoon too for that matter

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Also why are air coolers that were good enough for 775 not able to handle the load of an i7? I see guys pushing 100C on there air setups to try and hit 4GHz.
(also should point out that anadtech article is contrary to most articles on i7 dealing with energy efficiency)
Another interesting article about how energy efficient it is
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpu...-965-review/12
Note the load discrepancies on i7. They scale very well for a 200W TDP (all tests are run at stock)
(loaded tests are full power tests, note that this includes inefficient Intel chipsets (which no longer contain Mem controller etc as well as dimm power (very low on ddr3) and idle video card usage)
Loaded 920 i7 system runs 196W
Loaded 965 i7 system runs 247W or a 25% in crease in total system load draw, for only 25% more cpu clocks...
Now either 130W is a lie, or the 920 is only an 80w TDP CPU (lol yeah i do not believe that either

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Does this minimize the legacy that is i7? Certainly not, and when compared with the original phenoms, which were power hungry little beasties too, they get more work done faster so in effect are more energy efficient.
There are articles about the athlon family TDP which shows that the TDP rating of the chip is rated for the fastest CPU in that family. (for instance the athlon 4200x2 in reality only used 42W fully loaded... despite having a TDP of 65 or 85W...)
I only express these points, to point out that the VMWare guy is not wrong. Granted he is not very politically correct for someone in his shoes, but since it seems to be such a big secret, I guess the only way to really make the situation known is to be sensational about it. But I think we all know that intel=juice pig.
With amazing power, comes amazing responsibility (and a larger electric bill to boot)
These are not points that mean anything to Extreme OC'ers like most of us here (I am not extreme yet, but will get there soon I hope

Already talked freeagent into going i7 i think heh heh although his 8600ES should put up some incredible results with the right cooling solution...). However it is a valid architectural discussion. Beleive me if I could force 200W through my AMD chip I would!!
I do not want this thread to be derailed too, so will leave my comments as they are and will discuss it no further. Take it or leave it as you wish

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